Fire-escape ladder



( Nb Model.) i 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, L. D. B. SHAW.

l I FIRE ESCAPE LADDER. No! 256,447. Patented Apr.11, 1882.

N, PETERS. Pholo-ljlhugnplur. Washinginn. cu:

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. D. B. SHAW;

FIRE ESGAPE LADDER.

Patented Apr. 11- 1882.

N. PEYERS. PholnLiihngrapher. wnhin wn. 0.6.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

L. D. B. SHAW. FIRE ESCAPE LADDER.

No. 256,447. Patented April, 1882.

FICLG.

N. PETERS Pmaumn n hu. Wuhinglon. 11c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE? 5 '5 LORENZO D. B. SHAW, oranvnan,MASSACHUSETTS.

FIRE-ESCAPE LADDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 256,447, dated April11, 1882; Application filed August 29, 1881. (No model.)

any required heigh't, andis designed as'an improvementupon a fire-escapefor which a patent was granted to me July 12, 1881, No. 244,323.

My present improvement consists in the combination, with theelevating-column, of a hose wound upon a reel at the base of the columnand rendered capable of being elevated with the ladder, .and by meansof, which a stream of water can be thrown into or upon a burningbuilding at any required height.

The invention further consists in a means of counterbalancing thesuperincumbent weight of the telescopic tubing and ladder, and ofvention.

showing the telescopic column and ladder 3 is a plan View of theapparatus.

steadying the motion of the same while being 5 inclined in theirelevated position.

7 Referring tothe drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of anapparatus embodying my in- Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same,

closed and in position when not in use. Fig. Fig. 4 is a section of theapparatus on the line s s of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a viewbf the sectionalrack and accompanying operating mechanism. Fig. 6 is a sectional view ofthe telescopic columnand its elevating mechanism. Fig. 7 is a transversesection of the circular ladder.

Similar letters indicate like parts in the several figures.

'A A represent the two ends of the frame of the apparatus, connectedtogether at the lower portion by the bars E E. At the front end of w theframe is a standard, B, Fig. 2, by which the frame is supported on theaxle D and the wheels 0 G. The rear end of the apparatus is supported bybars D D on the axle Dand wheels 0 O. F is a frame journaled at each endin bearings G G in the upright portions of the frame A, so as to admitof said frame being tilted from side to side of the mainframe A.

On the under side of the front part of the tilting frame F is a toothedsector, G, Fig. 4," the teeth of which engage with the pinion H' on ashaft, H, to which latter is also attached the toothedwheel I,engaging-with a pinion, K, operated by the crank K, by turni'n gwhichlatter the frame F, which supports the tele-' scopic column, may beinclined to either'side of the apparatus, as desired.

or disk, L, Fig. 1, which is held in any desired position by aspring-pawl, M, so as to hold the toothed wheel I in positionas thecolumn and ladder are inclined to either side, and Where- ,by the latteraremaintained in their inclined or upright position, as required.

In order to counterbalance the superincum= bent weight of the telescopictubing and ladder, and to steady the motion of the same v while beinginclined in their elevated position,

I connect the tilting frame with a series ofstrong coiled springs,arranged and operating as follows: To thelower end of the rear por-,tion, F, of the tilting frame F is attached, at

Q, a wire rope or chain, Q, which passes between two horizontal pulleysin the frame A, and extending to the rear passes around a pulley, R,(see Fig. 3,) attached to a bar, N, and- ,then inclining upward issecured to therear of the main frame A at Q.

The bar N, not being fixed, is allowed an up-and-down motion, and it hassecured to it the ends of a series of stout coiled sp'rings,PP, arrangedhorizontally and attached at-their opposite ends to a plate, N, which isconnected to the main frame by' means of the rods or bars 0 0, or in anyother suitable manner! As the frame F is tilted the rope or chain Q,will be drawn through the frame A, causing the springs P to yield tothepressure exerted by the inclining tube and lad der, thus serving as ayielding counterbalance and steadying the movement of the tube andladder;

Srepresents a table or platform journaled 6o To the pinion Kis attacheda notched wheel at its sides in bearings T T on the frame F, so"

as to tilt horizontally or in the opposite direc-' tion from frame F. Tothe journal of the table S, at one side, is attached a toothed sector;

U, which gears with a pinion, U, the shaft of which latter passesthrough or is journaled inthe frame F, and has upon its outer end a.

toothed wheel, U, engaging with a pinion, U', operated by a crank, V. Tothe crank V, on the same shaft with pinion U,is attached a notched disk,9, to which is fitted a springpawl, 10, to hold the pinion in position,and by means of which the table S is held at any desired inclination. Asimilar appliance of springs to that used in connection with the frame Fis also employed in connection with the tilting table S as follows:

To the front end of the table S is attached a wire rope or chain, (1,which passes between 'two pulleys, d d, one above the other, in astandard, 01, on the front end of frame F. From thence the chain atpasses up over a pulley, I), attached to a bar, a, supported upontwouprightbars or standards, Z Z, attached to the frame A. (See Figs. 1and 4.) From the pulley I) the chain passes down under a pulley, c, andthen passing upward is secured to the cross-bar a, Figs. 1 and 4. Theuprights Z Z pass through holes in the cross-bar X, which allows thelatter to move up and down on the said uprights.

To the under side of the barX are attached four coiled springs, Y Y, thelower ends of which are firmly secured to the frame A. As the table S istilted to the front or rear the springsY will act as a counterbalance,through the rope or chain at and the several pulleys, to steady themovement of the table S and the extended tube and ladder.

In Fig. l the-telescopic tube and ladder are shown in an uprightposition, the springs Y being retracted and in their normal position. InFig. 4 the tubing and ladder are shownin a position inclined to therear, the springs Y being distended, which is effected by the drawing upof the bar X by the action of the rope or chain d, attached to the endof the table S. The springs Y Y in front and P P at the rear of theapparatus act conjointly in counterbalancin g and steadyin g themovement of the elevated ladder in its several inclinations from frontto rear and from side to side.

To the upper side of the table or platform S is firmly secured a sectionof thin metal tubin g, e, composed of drawn brass. Ropes or chains t 2',extending from the ends of the table S to eyes on the band t", attachedto the tubing 6, serve as stays to hold the tubingin position on thetable S. Within the stationary tubing 6 are arranged a series oftelescopic tubes, '0 e e 0, of suffieientlength, respectively, to enablethe column, when extended, to reach to any desired height.

The sections of tubing are elevated in the following manner: To thelower end of the upper section of tubing, 6, is firmly attached a rack,it, which is made in sections hinged together, as shown in Fig.6. Thesesections, when straightened out, constitute a column of sufficientrigidity to sustain the several sections when extended to their entireheight. The sectional rack is wound upon a drum, 1, which is mountedupon a screw-shaft, t, having its bearings in hangers m m, attached tothe table S, as shown in Fig. 5.

The drum Z is so arranged and connected with the screw-shaft t as tomove horizontally on the latter when it is rotated and cause the toothedrack to pass up centrally through the tubing as it is being elevated.The rack kengages with a toothed wheel, a, mounted on the same shaftwith the beveled gear 2' and the gear-wheel n. The gear-wheel 19'engages with the gear 1) on the shaft q, to which the bevel-gear p isattached, and, engaging with the bevel-gear p, is rotated by means ofthe shaft to which the crank 1 is attached, as shown in Fig. 5, the saidshaft being mounted in standards on the surface of the table S.

The lateral movement of the drum 1 on the screw-shaft t is effected bymeans of the gears n 0" 1' s and the bar u. The shaft carryingthebevel-gear p, and to which the crank 1 is attached, is prevented fromturning by means of a ratchet-wheel, v, on the shaft vand a springpawl,20, secured to the table S. The pawl w is thrown out of con nection withthe ratchetwheel 0 by means of a lever, w, pivoted to the pawl andhaving a. cam-shaped end which is made to bear against the tube 0 topush back pawl 10 when the lever 10 is depressed.

To the upper end of each section of the telescopic tubing 0 e, &o., isfirmly secured, by means of a collar and the radial arms h h, a circularframe or metal ring, f, and between each fixed ring are a series .ofrings, f, connected together and to the fixed rings f by means of chainsg or other suitable flexible and fire-proof material. Between each metalring I propose to surround the chains g with rubber bandsf", which willallow the chains to assume a perpendicular position when the column isextended as shown in Fig. 1, but which, when the column is lowered, willserve to draw thechains inward to admit of the rings being more readilyfolded together and prevent entanglement of the chains.

A plan view of the fixed rings and arms is shown in Fig. 7. These ringsff and f f serve as rings in a ladder and admit of persons descendingand climbing up on the inside or outside, as desired. Descent on theinside may be effected with almost perfect safety with moderate care.

At the rear of the telescopic column on the table S is mounted insuitable bearingsareel, 00, upon which is wound a hose, 3 of rubber orother suitable material, one end of which is attached to the upper endof the uppermost section, 0, of the telescopic column, and is providedat the upper end with a coupling device, y, Fig. 6, for the attachmentof a pipe or other hose, if required. As the telescopic column iselevated the hose will be carried up at the same time and be ready forimmediate use. When the telescopic column is lowered the hose is woundupon the reel by means of the crankhandle 2.

In order to prevent the apparatus, when ex- IIO that the same can beextended outward on both sides of the frame, and also at the front andrear, as shown in Fig. 3.-

In Fig. 2 the braces are shown as folded together when not in use. Atthe outer end of each double brace is attached a hollow standard, 6, asshown in Figs; 1 and 2, within which is arranged a bar, 7, to slide 'upand down. The lower part of the bar 7 is provided with ratchet-teeth, asshown at 4, and to the side of each standard 6 is attached a spring, 5,provided with a tooth or projection, which engages with the rack 4 tohold the bar 7 when drawn up within the standard 6. When the foldingbraces 25 3 are extended for use the bars 7 are let down upon theground, and are designed to hold the braces firmly in position, and whenthe braces are to be folded up the bars 7 are drawn up and held by thetoothed springs 5.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, with an extensiblecylindrical ladder, of a hose adapted to be elevated and loweredsimultaneously with said ladder, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a tilting table, S, of a series of springs, Y,attached to the frame A, and operating in connection with a chain,

(1, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

3. The combination, with the tilting frame F, of springs P, connected toa bar, N, at the rear of the apparatus, and operating in connection witha chain, Q, attached to the lower portion of frame I, as and for thepurpose specified.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

L. D. B. SHAW. Witnesses:

J 0s. H. ADAMS, B. OHARA.

